In the article,
Great Teaching Means Letting Go, Grant Wiggins stated two vital lessons about learning: 1)transfer is the bottom-line goal of all learning, not scripted behavior and 2)transfer means that a learner can draw upon and apply from all of what was learned, as the situation warrants, not just do one move at a time in response to a prompt. I am in agreement with him about the two lessons in learning, students should be able to respond to questions about the information they are learning no matter what format it is in and be able to tell how they reached their answer(s). He also stated that the Gradual Release of Responsibility model does not mean the last step is "Independent Practice." According to Grant, Independent practice is still a scaffolded, prompted, and simplified activity in which the student knows full well what single move we want them to use. Grant also discusses how when teachers give assignments or test that they should not tell or give the students any indication about what process or strategy to use but allow them to dig from the strategies they already know to answer the questions as well as tell what they used to determine the answers and why they choose that particular strategy(ies).
After watching the video,
Chris Lehmann - Inquiry: The Very First Step in the Process of Learning, I noticed that he and Grant Wiggins are talking about the same thing except Chris Lehman's video was geared more towards technology and Inquiry Learning. Lehman stated that in order for technology to be inquiry driven it has to incorporate the following:
What are the questions we can ask together?
Has to be student-centered
Teacher-mentored
Community - based (students can learn from others in specific fields within their community)
Collaborative (teachers and students working together)
Integrated - meaning each day has to make sense
Meta-cognitive - students need to think about thinking
Understanding driven - students should understand the importance of doing projects, homework, participating in class, and taking tests and quizzes
The ultimate goal is to have students who are thoughtful, wise, passionate, and kind.
After reading the article and watching the video, I found many similarities to the way I have taught students--telling them how and where to find the answers and giving generic tests to make sure they know but may not necessarily understand what was being taught. Using the scaffolding is beneficial to students but teachers have to learn how to give students space when learning to see if they are able to perform when necessary and in different ways. In hindsight, the article is describing how teachers should allow their students to think for themselves without being given hints or prompts on how to think and how to process information because everyone learns in different ways and will relay information they have learned differently. Teachers should encourage students to think for themselves and use the strategies they have been taught to discuss and answer questions. Having students who can ask and answer questions that requires thinking and pulling from previous knowledge helps to prepare them academically for high school and eventually college as well as for the workforce.
I was so inspired after reading the article and watching the video! The Gradual Release Model has been emphasized at our school as a strategy that should be used by all teachers. After reading what Wiggins said about it, I have a completely different way of thinking regarding scaffolding. Students do need to be able to transfer what they have learned without prompting and direction, if we expect them to do perform without it on the state test. Inquiry learning is another great strategy that I took away from this week's resources. I often use questioning techniques in the classroom, but on a smaller scale. Integrating technology along with teaching students how to find the answers to questions, locate information on the web, and create a project or presentation to show what they know is great teaching! Overall, this week I have learned a lot of valuable information!
ReplyDeleteWe use the gradual release of responsibility model at my school as well. I think the "You Do" phase of gradual release builds upon the principle of no scaffolding. Essentially, the teacher goes through the other phases (I Do, We Do, Y'all Do) in any given order prior to arriving at the You Do, where students must "show what they know" on their own. In my classroom, this usually means a silent ticket out the door activity where students are given an open-ended question (the essential question) or asked to demonstrate their understanding of the standard.
ReplyDeleteAllowing students to work on their own is the best way to assess where each student really stands in relation to mastery of the content. Personally, I find collaborative group work to be somewhat overrated and a waste of time, as many of my 6th graders do not know how to work together effectively (NOT saying that it can't be useful or effective if done the right way).
Gradual release is definitely a big part of the teaching at Lilburn Middle School, but I don't think that's fully what Wiggins is talking about here. Yes, most classrooms scaffold in the traditional sense of the teacher showing the kids how to do something, then doing it together, and finally letting the kids try it on their own. But what about just presenting the kids with a problem or challenge, and making them decide what skills they need to overcome it drawing from everything they've learned throughout the semester? That kind of free learning is what Wiggins suggests. Making kids create a sort of skill toolbox throughout their education, and having them recognize what tool is the right fit for the job, rather then telling them what skill is required. I'm very interested in trying to apply this idea in higher level thinking questions.
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